How to be an opposition 

The only startling thing I read today was Josh Marshall’s explanation of what being a real opposition party should mean for the Democrats. The crucial passage:

There aren’t many occasions where British political experience can help inform American politics. But this is certainly one. Of course the parliamentary system both institutionalises the role of the opposition and makes it much easier than in the US. The weekly set piece of prime minister’s questions allows the opposition leader (and the party out of power in the US will never have a leader in that sense) to appear on an equal footing with the PM. Other ministers, too, face regular peer-to-peer debate.

And unlike in Congress, the debates are considered to matter. If a prime minister can’t perform in the House of Commons, he or she won’t last long as prime minister.

So the Democrats lack these advantages (not that the Conservatives have figured out how to use them against Tony Blair). But an examination of the record of successful oppositions in Britain will reveal some valuable lessons. Have an overriding purpose, keep hammering away at the same themes, tenaciously pursue every slip and flop, keep chipping away, even if you think you’re not getting anywhere.

I arrived in Britain in the autumn of 1978, not long before Jim Callaghan lost to Margaret Thatcher. It was nearly 20 years before Labour got back into power. There were plenty of times when it seemed as though it would never return to power, but from the Neil Kinnock days as leader I think the party put itself on something like the right track. Kinnock, of course, wasn’t sufficient (but his loss to John Major was very painful). John Smith took up the cudgels. And Tony Blair finally devastated the Conservatives.

The Conservatives haven’t yet had their Kinnock, to say nothing of Smith or Blair. I wish I had more confidence that the Democrats had the leaders in the House or the Senate to put them on the right track. Tough times sometimes make for great men. Let’s hope.

Indicators for the falling dollar 

Tyler Cowan: “Overall, the more scare stories you read about a falling dollar, the less you should worry. The Major Media aren’t exactly ahead of the curve on an issue like this. Their scare-mongering means that the real dangers have already been capitalized and digested. It is when you read blog posts like this one that you should fear the worst…”

Channelling Gibbon to explain open source 

Brad DeLong: “Think of it this way: Microsoft is like the late Roman Empire, IBM is like the Huns, and the Linux programmers are like the Goths. IBM’s support of Linux is the analogue of the Huns driving the Goths before them to soften up the Roman Empire at the end of the fourth century.”

The first Nobel prizewinner weblog 

There’s nothing on it yet, but economics Nobelist Gary Becker and judge and legal scholar Richard Posner have set up a weblog. From the first demo entry, it seems as if Larry Lessig helped them set it up. If Becker and Posner start writing, this could be very interesting (via Eugene Volokh).

High time 

Ian Traynor has a fascinating insight into the spectacularly odd coalition that has developed a formula for democratic victory in emerging democracies: mix some veteran Belgrade dissidents with officials from both the Democratic and Republican parties, add some US embassy staff, and stir in some spice from George Soros’s Open Society Institute.

In praise of orange 

It’s a good time to have an orange-themed weblog.

De Toqueville and pumpkin pie 

Kieran Healy has the most enjoyable Thanksgiving reflection I’ve read.

It seems unfashionable, but I like pumpkin pie (and I love turkey). Today is not a holiday here, but we’re going to two different Thanksgiving meals this weekend.

As Lenin wrote 

For all the talk that British government is becoming more and more American in style, some things do emphasise the difference.

Foreign secretary Jack Straw has a letter in today’s Independent that proudly displays his training in left-wing student politics many, many years ago:

My quiz question: is there any US politician that would admit to reading Lenin (even for research purposes), or who would know how to use terms like revanchism, false consciousness and splitism? (Thanks to Harry’s Place for spotting the letter.)

Cor blimey 

Deputy prime minister John Prescott often tells it as he sees it, an increasingly rare phenomenon in modern politics:

“Fox-hunting? Cor blimey! What are we getting worried about fox-hunting for? Iraq’s a very serious question, fox-hunting isn’t.”

Reporting on the full spectrum 

I don’t think weblogs need to be judged on their success in conventional media, but there’s a significance to The Guardian‘s devoting three-quarters of page one and half of page two to a posting from Kevin Sites‘s weblog.

Read all of Sites’s explanation of what he saw in Falluja. It’s vivid and important. The nub of the analysis for me comes in the peroration:

People think first if it’s dangerous 

Dan Gillmor, on weblogs in China:

The transatlantic divide 

Harry, of Harry’s Place, has a sobering riposte to those Europeans feeling smug about the current direction of the US. An excerpt:

Like Harry, I’m not particularly a fan of the so-called American model. I’ve long argued that most of the world doesn’t want to be like Silicon Valley — or anywhere else in America. But I’m also that comparative oddity. Someone who has lived a long time in Europe (26 years and counting), and feels very European, but is very fundamentally American and — despite the terrible, current administration — proud of it.

There’s an enormous amount good about Europe, but those who are swift to tar America should — as Harry eloquently suggests — look first at home.

Another Boris surprise 

To my mind, perhaps the least likely politician to be interested in the beta of Google Scholar is Conservative MP Boris Johnson. But look:

I’ll have to declare a moratorium on mentions of Boris here, but he is a rare, interesting politician.

Clinton remains the master 

Bill Clinton’s speech at the opening of his presidential library:

It just might work 

TM Lutas on the potential of the Pentagon’s planned second generation battlefield Internet for peacebuilding (via Thomas PM Barnett):

I’ve long been a sceptic of the grander notions of the power of the Internet to transform the world’s most disadvantaged communities. Clean water, healthcare, education and shelter are far more important. But Lutas may well be right about the potential in post-conflict situations, not least because of the ability of the military to deliver many of these benefits (assuming they are in a Kosovo situation, not an Iraqi one).

A mathematician comments on the election 

John Allen Paulos: “In any case, my meta-conclusion is that there are no very compelling conclusions to be drawn about the electorate. Bush received more votes than Kerry. Period.”

Google’s latest 

Google Scholar has launched in beta. It lets you search scholarly literature. Semantics Etc has a full review.

The Snow effect 

BBC: “US Treasury Secretary John Snow has reiterated the US commitment to a strong dollar, as the greenback hit another record low against the euro.”

This (purple) land is my land… 

Eric Folkerth (a perfect name for a folk singer) has written a song in response to the many observations about purple America. A sample of the lyrics: